37624 F7 A-B-A Pennsylvania.

Lenght - 520 mm.
Sounds - Diesel operating sounds, horn, bell, letting off air, squealing brakes off.
Decoder + Motor = MFX with high-efficiency propulsion.
Detailment - No Issue on C-tracks.
Childen? - Age 14 and over.
Coupling? - Hook in front and rear. Can be changed with NEM or snowplows with hooks.
Headlight? - 1 in front with lighted numbersigns.
Loco body - Metal.
6021 address coding - 07.
60212/3 Name at factory - F 7 #9654.
Traction Tyres? - Eight.

Functions
F0 Headlights and signboards front.
F1 Sound effect: Short Horn.
F2 Operating sounds.
F3 Sound effect: Horn.
F4 ABV.
F5 Sound effect: Squealing brakes off
F6 Sound effect: Letting off air
F7 Sound effect. Bell

Introduction:
Since a few years back Märklin stopped producing the F7. Some says the moulds were destroyed and couldn´t be used anymore. After the 150th anniversary we´ve got alot of reproductions of some trains and of course we´ve got a brand new F7. The new F7 is very similar to the older moulds but for a few details. We have some new handrails by the front windows and also over them and the ladders are slightly different. You hardly notice. The steps have more detailing also. The box is also different and are bigger than the older boxes. Now the trains are in foam.

Technical:
The setup is as the same as usual, an A-B-A-unit train. The 2 motors are placed on the rear boogies on the A-units and are driven by the decoder in the "front" A-unit. The B-unit contains the sound decoder and and the speaker. The speaker is the same as in the 26600 CZ set with a long tubular cylinder. The B-unit also has the pick-up shoe in the "front" boogie. There are a total of 8 traction tires. The motors are the old type high propulsion motor. That in turn gives the train bad driving charistics when driving at very low speed.
The sound is very noisy. I had to turn down the volume on it. It´s sometimes hard to hear the horn when the operating sounds are on. But the operating sounds makes the train more alive. I think the sounds are realistic, but I haven´t heard the original.
The headlights are still the old lightbulbs, so no LED here. That´s a little odd considering this being a new mould.

Appearance:
To me it looks like the train is black. It´s very detailed. The lettering are fine as usual. Although it´s missing the lines on the roof I don´t miss them. I think it would be impossible to handle the train witout destroying them. The train is made of mostly metal. Only the boogies are made of plastic.
A note I did was that Märklin has switched the direction of the train. When driving forward on the controller The B-unit goes forward, but on my 3649 the B-unit goes backwards.

Accessories:
Just as stated by Märklin the model is delievered together with 2 snowplows made by plastic. But you´ll get a surprise when you open up the box. There´s also 2 details that allows you to use NEM-couplers!

Summary:
A very beatiful train made by Märklin. The price tag is very high even for this loco. The older Märklin F7-units was priced below half the price of this. You can buy 2½ Amtrak 37621 for this price. It´s a perfect train for all of us who loves the F7 units. It´s good to see the F7 as a MFX which works well, but I think the model is a little outdated to be a new model. We have seen the GG and the PA-1 with signboards which are controlled seperately from the headlights. We have seen cabin lights on many American locos but not here. 1 light function. I do recommend this unit but only if you can afford it or as me think you can afford it. A big welcome for this model are the mentioned NEM-units.

Enough talk! Here are the pictures!

/David


The box


The front of 37624. 9665


The rear of 37624. 9654


The front unit of 37624. 9665. Shell removed. The other A-unit is pretty empty. Only a motor and the light bulb.


Detailing of the A-unit 9654. Note the handrails and also the windows.


Snowplows and NEM. The plowa are plastic, but the couplers are metal.


Comparison. 3649 to the left and 37624 on the right.

Edited by moderator 15 January 2011 10:57:39(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified